A Texas school district is pulling any and all books that were challenged last year from library shelves, including the Bible.
The Keller Independent School District (KISD) in North Texas, which serves students in the Fort Worth suburbs, reviewed dozens of challenged books during the last school year. It is taking them off the shelves as it reviews them again.
Jennifer Price, the executive director of curriculum and instruction, told principals and librarians to remove 41 books while they undergo a review, according to an email obtained by the Texas Tribune.
“All of the books included in Tuesday’s email have been included on Keller ISD’s Book Challenge list over the past year. Books that meet the new guidelines will be returned to the libraries as soon as it is confirmed they comply with the new policy,” the school district said in a statement after the email was obtained by the Texas Tribune, reports CNN News.
The Keller school district allows parents, employees, and district residents to file formal objections or challenges, to books and instructional materials used in schools. A committee then considers whether the materials are educationally suitable and makes a decision on whether the material will remain in schools, the district website says.
No books are safe from censorship
Some of the books included in the list are all editions of the Bible, a graphic novel adaptation of Anne Frank’s diary, “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison, and “Gender Queer: A Memoir,” by Maia Kobabe, the Tribune reported. Kobabe’s book tops the American Library Association’s list for most banned books in 2021.
“Attached is a list of all books that were challenged last year. By the end of today, I need all books pulled from the library and classrooms. Please collect these books and store them in a location. (book room, office, etc.),” Price wrote in the email on Tuesday.
According to Board of Trustees President Charles Randklev in a post on Facebook, district officials are concerned about “graphic, gratuitous, sexually-explicit content.” The following is part of the statement Mr. Randklev wrote on his Facebook page.
It all comes down to a concerted effort by parents, politicians, and other community members to challenge books at higher rates as conservative lawmakers raise concerns about what students are being taught in schools about topics such as race, sexuality, and gender identity.
It does seem that books exploring racial and social issues are being targeted more than usual. It is as if certain groups don’t want our children to know the truth, regardless of how ugly it may be sometimes.
The tactics have also changed, with conservative groups, in particular, backing these efforts in political races, according to the New York Times.
Jonathan Friedman, director of free expression and education programs at PEN America, the free-speech organization, said in a statement that the Keller school board’s decision was an “appalling affront to students’ First Amendment rights.”
“It is virtually impossible to run a school or a library that purges books in response to any complaint from any corner,” Mr. Friedman said.
